AUSTIN, Texas — Three faculty members from The University of Texas at Austin have been selected to receive Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their research careers.

They are among 102 recipients who will receive their awards at a Washington, D.C., ceremony later this year. These recognition awards pay tribute to the honorees’ past and ongoing accomplishments.

The University of Texas at Austin recipients and their areas of research are:

• Kristen Grauman, associate professor, Department of Computer Science, College of Natural Sciences. She studies computer vision and machine learning, with a focus on visual recognition and search.
• Mattan Erez, associate professor, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering. His research addresses the challenge of providing efficient resilience against system errors and failures at large scale by elevating resilience to first-class programming abstraction.
• Jonathan Pillow, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts, and the Department of Neuroscience and Division of Statistics; Scientific Computation, College of Natural Sciences. He develops mathematical models to study how neurons in the brain work together to process information.

“The impressive achievements of these early-stage scientists and engineers are promising indicators of even greater successes ahead,” President Barack Obama said about the 102 recipients. “We are grateful for their commitment to generating the scientific and technical advancements that will ensure America’s global leadership for many years to come.”

The recipients are employed or funded by various federal departments and agencies that join together annually to nominate those whose early accomplishments show the greatest promise for ensuring America’s pre-eminence in science and engineering and contributing to the awarding agencies' missions.

For more information, contact: University Communications, Office of the President, 512 471 3151.